What's Your Most Highly Rated Marketing Literature?, I'm on a mission to be educated! Options

[scouseflip]

Hi all,

I've started to try to broaden my general marketing abilities (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smartass.gif) - I know this is not a general Marketing forum but it's all related right? - and I'm looking for some good reading suggestions.

I realise what a broad subject this is but I don't want to limit any potential suggestions by specifying a particular area of focus. Anything that has inspired, helped, encouraged or prompted thise 'lightbulb moments'.

Thanks!

[magician]

My Fav

Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank

Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd Edition by Steve Krug

Web Copy That Sells: The Revolutionary Formula for Creating Killer Copy Every Time by Maria Veloso

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More

[adybee]

Anything that has inspired, helped, encouraged or prompted thise 'lightbulb moments'.

Thanks!

Hello Scouseflip

well anything here at HR thats pinned tends to be very good (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

two good sites for basic down to earth info are

Sugarrae

and Web Marketing plus

There's loads more of useful but these two give a lot of simple explanations and good basic mktg advice

[Randy]

Oh man, talk about an open ended question!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif)

All of the ones mentioned above are good places. Anything put out by one of the best-of-the-best copywriters like our own Karon. Her Copywriting Course is one I've recommended probably several hundred times. (Hey, maybe I should have signed up to be an affiliate! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif) ) She and some others also make lots of information available for free, but I recommend the course because it's one of the few docs out there that will cause you to start thinking about who your target audience is before you start writing your copy.

Places like grokdotcom.com and marketingexperiments.com help to make the connection between your content and design and conversions, opening up the whole world of conversion testing. Which of course is the whole point behind marketing.

Then you also may want to get into the visual design aspect of marketing since it does make a large difference. Coloring, basic layout, consistency, use of images, etc, etc. It all can make a difference.

At the end of the day marketing on the web is pretty similar to traditional print media marketing, though there are some important differences. But if you can master being able to create a site design, layout, usability, copy, etc that really speaks to your target audience you'll be in very high demand. Though frankly when you get it all down pretty well you're probably going to find that you can make more money with considerably less hassle by working for yourself, instead of working on other people's sites.

Best I can tell you is to read everything you can get your hands on, but keep your BS filter turned up to its most sensitive setting if you read something that doesn't provide any testing data backing up the theories. I have literally read several thousand different books and studies over the years (and have the well-stocked bookshelves (yes, plural) to prove it! But I still keep reading because I learned a long time ago I really can learn something new every single day.

[scouseflip]

Thanks Magician, Adybee and Randy for the replies!

I have had a look at some of the suggestions and can see there is plenty to get my teeth into there. In particular, Web Marketing Plus, 'Persuasive Online Copywriting...' and Karons course look to be of interest. I just started an enjoyable book called 'Common Sense Direct Marketing' (Drayton Bird) which has a good (imo!) section about Web copywriting and it would be interesting to see what other experts have to say!

Time to check the piggy bank...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/crossfingers.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pig.gif)

[nethy]

You said general marketing abilities, Right. So can I take a step back? I'd say that most of those suggestions are more about almost technical skills. Good ones (the ones I'm familiar with anyway)

You might go with University textbooks. Usually marketing degrees/ majors will comprise of courses along the lines of:

1) intro to marketing courses (mostly about terminology and some simple case studies not very interesting as a rule but good place to make sure that you understand the terms and concepts assumed everywhere else)
2) marketing management courses (kind of a linear progression form intro to marketing, sort of advanced intro to marketing)
3) Consumer Behaviour courses (often very technical research based areas, not a fun read.Sace studies are almost like research papers)
4) Market Research courses (Basically an area of statistics with specific expirement design/sampling methods relevent tomarketing) *very applicable online
5) sepcialised area courses (international marketing, commodity goods marketing, e-marketing, retail,e-tail, etc)
6) Marketing Strategy (almost always at least one mandatory course. Very Case study centred, very interesting)

If you really are serious about getting educated in marketing, you'll probably want to touch on all these a little and delve into some of them a lot. That's basically what you'd do in a marketing degree.

If you want to DIY go to a university secondhand bookshop (or website) and get the previous edition books (they are just as good for DIY). They'll usually be called something like the name of the course so they're easy to spot. Should only set you back $10-$20 a piece ($50-$150 new current editions).

If you want to research a bit, See what is the textbook for the marketing subject you want to study.

You can look at my old Uni's if you want http://ecocomm.anu.edu.au/courses/courseli...discipline=MKTG. If you like the course descritpition, get the textbook.

If you are actually looking for suggustions, I would suggest starting from the end- Marketing Strategy.
-First of all, its the most interesting because its usually case study heavy.
-Secondly I'd prefer to pick up lingo/terms allong the way rather then actually have them properly explained.
-Most importantly, when you subsequently go into other areas of marketing it will be with application in mind. So when you go back to something like consumer behaviour, or market research, you have already heard/learned about the power and impact that getting this right can have on results.

[nethy]

Oh man, talk about an open ended question!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hysterical.gif)

Best I can tell you is to read everything you can get your hands on, but keep your BS filter turned up to its most sensitive setting if you read something that doesn't provide any testing data backing up the theories.

Brilliant advice.

I'll add, keep you BS detector on hand whenever anyone gives you marketing advice. Set it to stun when you're reading online, and set it to kill when the cost of this information is high.

Remember that the cost of info is not correlated to its value. A university subject at harvard business is 1000s , but you can get the textbook for 10. It the same info, the difference is in presentation.

Set your BS detector to kill, if you hear the word 'secret' as in 'marketing secrets' 'secret techniques'.

[Hyperformance]

Give a search for Unique Selling Propositions.... with all the other good tips here this free information will help put your mindshare into your offering(s) versus everyone else who's in that market (industry).

Shameless self promotion? Maybe, but one of my most read and complimented articles.

- S

[scouseflip]

Thanks Nethy, great advice that I will follow up for sure!

I'll add, keep you BS detector on hand whenever anyone gives you marketing advice. Set it to stun when you're reading online, and set it to kill when the cost of this information is high.

Superb..! And Star Trek Marketing was born!

Shameless self promotion?

Possibly (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol.gif) But with good reason! Great article - thanks for bringing it to my attention!

Thanks again for your advice!

[jammin' Jake]

Hi - an article I read in school and really enjoyed was Marketing Myopia by Theodore Levitt. It was written in the 60's, but every word still rings true. Might get you thinking outside your product or services "box"

I wasn't able to find a free full-text copy online, but I didn't search too hard (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Good Luck!

[noel_x99]

Sean DeSouza from Psychotactics has a good newsletter you can sigh up for. It's easy enjoyable reading. Each newsletter is one simple point that is well illustrated.

I've also purchased some of his products. A lot of what he says is common sense. But he breaks things down and makes you think about things in a new way. He doesn't focus specifically on the web.